Opinion survey: Missiles [TC]

[Timsup2nothin]

If you were setting up a reliable missile supply, and it was going to have five missiles that were more reliably supplied than others, which five would you consider the best to prioritize?

Limit: the five designated must have an Argon fab that can produce them.

I consider Hammers, Flails, Tomahawks, and Mosquitoes to be obvious choices, but can't even offer a suggestion for the fifth.

[DrBullwinkle]

I don't know about Argon fabs, but Wraith, Typhoon, Thunderbolt, and Wasp are very nearly the only purchasable missiles that I use (and Mosquito, of course).

[Lone Jedi]

The fifth's got to be Silkworm. Not exactly a good one but the possibly best for TPs, if you even fight in TPs.

[Timsup2nothin]

Soooo...suggestions so far, Wasp or Silkworm.

Thunderbolts are Split, Wraiths are Terran, and Typhoons are Teladi...as far as the fabs go. They are certainly good candidates, but in the current game situation getting the fabs plus the necessary food sources would be a problem.

[ancienthighway]

Mosquitoes - readily available at any Equipment Dock, usually in numbers and available with low reputation. I'd pass on building a factory.

Firefly - a fast but weak dumbfire missile that will miss most of the time. No thank you.

Firestorm - only if my focus was on destroying stations and extremely slow ships.

Flail - Yes

Hammer - Yes

Tomahawk - Yes

Silkworm - Only if an M4/M3 lightweight missile was needed because heavier fighter class missiles are not available.

Wasp - only if I wasn't able to get a Hurricane factory up fast enough.

I would double up on two of the heavier missiles and leave mosquitoes, wasps, and silkworms out of the mix.

[Cpt.Jericho]

Hurricane missle. Good against M5 and M4.
All the other missles are only for sale. Wasp isn't powerful enough to scratch shields. Everything else is pretty much a waste of money.

[Timsup2nothin]

Wasp - only if I wasn't able to get a Hurricane factory up fast enough.

Hurricane factories are Paranid. Chances are I will not only not be able to get one set up 'fast enough'... chances are I will not be able to get one ever. I have recently graduated from routine hatred to absolutely despised.

[Honved]

My preference would be Wasp missiles. I use them in moderate quantities to dispose of inbound Kha'ak Scouts and Xenon Ns before making contact, especially when I'm flying something in the M3-5 class. The Wasps typically break up the approaching formations (as they try in vain to evade) even before we get within shooting distance.

They're all but useless against anything bigger, although I sometimes use them to distract turrets on M3 and M6 ships while the "real" missiles close. Against capitals in the M7 and up range, they'll all hit the huge target on the first pass, and then you don't have a distraction anymore.

[Cpt.Jericho]

Hurricane factories are Paranid. Chances are I will not only not be able to get one set up 'fast enough'... chances are I will not be able to get one ever. I have recently graduated from routine hatred to absolutely despised.

If you're very lucky, you may be able to board a Paranid TL that carries a Hurricane fab.

[Timsup2nothin]

Hurricane factories are Paranid. Chances are I will not only not be able to get one set up 'fast enough'... chances are I will not be able to get one ever. I have recently graduated from routine hatred to absolutely despised.

If you're very lucky, you may be able to board a Paranid TL that carries a Hurricane fab.

Eventually maybe. I would also need to board a TL with a bean farm and another with a soyery unless I wanted to rely on pirate loot to feed the missile fab. A long shot, all in all, and I haven't even started training marines yet. This game Hurricanes are going to be a limited access item I'm afraid.

[IanFitzJo]

I'd definitely go for hurricanes. But I also have an overtuned Skirnir and love to shower my targets with Shadow missiles. Hornets, wraiths, flails are all things I like to pack (plus Ghouls for the Skirnir, but that's another story).

[ancienthighway]

I would also need to board a TL with a bean farm and another with a soyery unless I wanted to rely on pirate loot to feed the missile fab. A long shot, all in all, and I haven't even started training marines yet. This game Hurricanes are going to be a limited access item I'm afraid.

Not necessarily. At least one trading station from every race carries soja husks, with Boron having the bulk of them. Paranid food transports is another source for their food. It's been a while since I've played TC, but in AP soja husks are also available in Aldin. I think they are in TC also.

[Cpt.Jericho]

I think they are in TC also.

Yep, they are.
A shame that there is no Disruptor missile fab in TC. I'd even prefer those over the Hurricane.

Edit: Another way to get Hurricanes is to buy them with a trading station.

[Nanook]

I would also need to board a TL with a bean farm and another with a soyery unless I wanted to rely on pirate loot to feed the missile fab. A long shot, all in all, and I haven't even started training marines yet. This game Hurricanes are going to be a limited access item I'm afraid.

Not necessarily. At least one trading station from every race carries soja husks, with Boron having the bulk of them. Paranid food transports is another source for their food. It's been a while since I've played TC, but in AP soja husks are also available in Aldin. I think they are in TC also.

Not only that, there's also an Argon Soja Husk factory in Brennan's Triumph. Also an Argon one for Majaglit, letting the Paranid-haters operate satellite factories, too.

[Timsup2nothin]

I think they are in TC also.

Yep, they are.
A shame that there is no Disruptor missile fab in TC. I'd even prefer those over the Hurricane.

Edit: Another way to get Hurricanes is to buy them with a trading station.

Another way to get them is blow up Paranid equipment docks and salvage them from the wreckage. That's my usual source for the one tractor beam I feel like I need, but for a consumable like missiles it isn't very efficient.

[ancienthighway]

Revisiting this after your latest post on the other thread, mosquitoes are definitely NOT missiles you want to produce. I think you would have the EQDs maxed out so fast and kept there that your storage waiting for sells would be overloaded. Even if you toss in the 4 Boron stations that stock them. Or the Teladi 2 close in stations (CEO's Buckzoid and Seizewell).

There is no convenient sink for mosquitoes.

[Timsup2nothin]

I have found that if you push hard on resources so the fabs are running all the time pretty much every missile will fill up the available docks. So I have come to terms with selling missiles, and other overproduction, into oblivion using infinite looping manual trade runs. As cheesy things go, there are worse. And as cheesy exploitive profit makers using that method go mosquitoes are probably the smallest fish in the sea.

I like to stock a hundred Tomahawks on my Gladiator and another full reload of a hundred on the shelf, but when the docks are full and those are getting sold off to nowhere there is a whole lot of credits involved. That's why I didn't want to double up on anything.

By the way, the only way I can sell to Boron and Teladi docks is on pure manual do it yourself. If I send automated ships they invariably end up shooting at Paranids, which leads to fighting the local cops, which leads to fighting the local military and I can't hold rep...if my ships survive at all. I can send stuff into pirate space, because the pirates generally don't mind a little brawl with passing Paranids, but other than that my options are pretty limited.

[lighters]

By the way, the only way I can sell to Boron and Teladi docks is on pure manual do it yourself. If I send automated ships they invariably end up shooting at Paranids, which leads to fighting the local cops, which leads to fighting the local military and I can't hold rep...if my ships survive at all. I can send stuff into pirate space, because the pirates generally don't mind a little brawl with passing Paranids, but other than that my options are pretty limited.

Sometimes it's better not to give weapons to traders

[Timsup2nothin]

By the way, the only way I can sell to Boron and Teladi docks is on pure manual do it yourself. If I send automated ships they invariably end up shooting at Paranids, which leads to fighting the local cops, which leads to fighting the local military and I can't hold rep...if my ships survive at all. I can send stuff into pirate space, because the pirates generally don't mind a little brawl with passing Paranids, but other than that my options are pretty limited.

Sometimes it's better not to give weapons to traders

When one of the major races is committed to shoot on sight traders don't need weapons, they need escorts.

[Black_hole_suN]

If getting friendly with the Split is not a problem you could try getting Tornado missiles

they are fast, hits hard, accurate at short range and vs large objects, very efficient cargo/damage ratio. in TC, AI fighters can use them effectively as long as it has no lasers in main weapon slots

you would need to buy factories though because production is kinda slow and less products per factory cycle than other missiles

another thing, AI dont waste Tornadoes as much as other missiles by rapid firing them..